U.S. patent application number 16/606772 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-30 for positioning device, positioning system, positioning method and positioning program.
This patent application is currently assigned to Furuno Electric Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Furuno Electric Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Naomi FUJISAWA, Hiraku NAKAMURA, Hiroyuki TODA.
Application Number | 20200132862 16/606772 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63919665 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-30 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200132862 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TODA; Hiroyuki ; et
al. |
April 30, 2020 |
POSITIONING DEVICE, POSITIONING SYSTEM, POSITIONING METHOD AND
POSITIONING PROGRAM
Abstract
The determination of an integer value bias may be performed at
high speed. A positioning device, may include a FLOAT solution
calculating part and an integer value bias determining part. The
FLOAT solution calculating part may use carrier phase differences
between carrier phases obtained by a plurality of antennas of a
first station and a carrier phase obtained by one or more antennas
of a second station provided separately from the first station to
calculate a FLOAT solution of a particular position that is a
relative position with respect to the second station, without using
posture information on the first station. The integer value bias
determining part may determine an integer value bias of the carrier
phase difference, using the FLOAT solution of the particular
position and the posture information on the first station.
Inventors: |
TODA; Hiroyuki; (Nishinomiya
City, JP) ; FUJISAWA; Naomi; (Nishinomiya City,
JP) ; NAKAMURA; Hiraku; (Osaka City, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. |
Nishinomiya City, Hyogo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Furuno Electric Co., Ltd.
Nishinomiya-City, Hyogo
JP
|
Family ID: |
63919665 |
Appl. No.: |
16/606772 |
Filed: |
March 27, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
March 27, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2018/012369 |
371 Date: |
October 21, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01S 19/46 20130101;
G01S 19/55 20130101; G01S 19/44 20130101; G01S 19/47 20130101; G01S
19/51 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01S 19/44 20060101
G01S019/44; G01S 19/47 20060101 G01S019/47; G01S 19/46 20060101
G01S019/46; G01S 19/51 20060101 G01S019/51 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 28, 2017 |
JP |
2017-089603 |
Claims
1. A positioning device, comprising: processing circuitry
configured to: use carrier phase differences between carrier phases
obtained by a plurality of antennas of a first station and a
carrier phase obtained by one or more antennas of a second station
provided separately from the first station to calculate a FLOAT
solution of a particular position that is a relative position with
respect to the second station, without using posture information on
the first station; acquire the posture information on the first
station; and determine an integer value bias of the carrier phase
differences, using the FLOAT solution of the particular position
and the posture information on the first station.
2. A positioning device, comprising: processing circuitry configure
to: calculate a FLOAT solution of a particular position that is an
absolute position of a first station, using carrier phases obtained
by a plurality of antennas of the first station, without using
posture information on the first station; acquire the posture
information on the first station; and an integer value bias
determining part configured to determine an integer value bias of
the carrier phase, using the FLOAT solution of the particular
position and the posture information on the first station.
3. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein the processing
circuitry is further configured to calculate a FIX solution of the
particular position, using the FLOAT solution of the particular
position and the integer value bias.
4. The positioning device of claim 2, wherein the processing
circuitry is further configured to calculate a FIX solution of the
particular position, using the FLOAT solution of the particular
position and the integer value bias.
5. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein the first station
includes: the processing circuitry configured to; acquire second
station data including the carrier phases obtained at the second
station; calculate the FLOAT solution; and determine the integer
value bias.
6. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein a plurality of
antennas are disposed at the second station, and wherein the
processing circuitry is further configured to calculate the FLOAT
solution, using carrier phase differences between the carrier
phases respectively obtained by the plurality of antennas of the
second station, and the carrier phases respectively obtained by the
plurality of antennas of the first station.
7. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein the processing
circuitry is further configured to calculate the posture
information, using the carrier phases of the plurality of antennas
obtained at the first station, an output of an inertia sensor
disposed at the first station, or a geomagnetic sensor disposed at
the first station.
8. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein the processing
circuitry is further configured to calculate a FLOAT solution of
the integer value bias, as well as the particular position of the
first station.
9. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein the particular
position of the first station is a position different from
positions of the plurality of antennas of the first station, and is
a position calculated by a weighted average of the positions of the
plurality of antennas of the first station.
10. A positioning system, comprising the configuration of the
positioning device of claim 1, wherein the first station is a
mobile station, and the second station is a reference station.
11. A positioning method, comprising the steps of: using carrier
phase differences between carrier phases obtained by a plurality of
antennas of a first station and a carrier phase obtained by one or
more antennas of a second station provided separately from the
first station to calculate a FLOAT solution of a particular
position that is a relative position with respect to the second
station, without using posture information on the first station;
acquiring the posture information on the first station; and
determining an integer value bias of the carrier phase differences,
using the FLOAT solution of the particular position and the posture
information on the first station.
12. A positioning method, comprising the steps of: calculating a
FLOAT solution of a particular position that is an absolute
position of the first station using carrier phases obtained by a
plurality of antennas of the first station, without using posture
information on the first station; acquiring the posture information
on the first station; and determining an integer value bias of the
carrier phase using the FLOAT solution of the particular position
and the posture information on the first station.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a
control program causing a processor of a positioning device to
execute processing, the processor configured to control operation
of the device, the processing comprising: using carrier phase
differences between carrier phases obtained by a plurality of
antennas of a first station and a carrier phase obtained by one or
more antennas of a second station provided separately from the
first station to calculate a FLOAT solution of a particular
position that is a relative position with respect to the second
station, without using posture information on the first station;
acquiring the posture information on the first station; and
determining an integer value bias of the carrier phase differences,
using the FLOAT solution of the particular position and the posture
information on the first station.
14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a
control program causing a processor of a positioning device to
execute processing, the processor configured to control operation
of the device, the processing comprising: calculating a FLOAT
solution of a particular position that is an absolute position of a
first station, using carrier phases obtained by a plurality of
antennas of the first station, without using posture information on
the first station; acquiring the posture information on the first
station; and determining an integer value bias of the carrier
phase, using the FLOAT solution of the particular position and the
posture information on the first station.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a positioning device, a
positioning system, a positioning method, and a positioning
program, which perform positioning by using the carrier phases of
positioning signals.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Conventionally, differential or relative positioning is used
as a highly-precise positioning method. The relative positioning
performs the positioning using the carrier phase differences of the
positioning signals received by a plurality of antennas. As a kind
of such a relative positioning, RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) has been
put in practical use.
[0003] Generally, for RTK, although one antenna is used for each of
a base station and a mobile station, Patent Documents 1 and 2
disclose that a plurality of antennas are used for RTK.
[0004] In the relative positioning device of Patent Documents 1 and
2, at least two or more antennas (reference station antennas) are
allocated at the reference station, and at least three or more
antennas (mobile station antenna) at the mobile station. The
relative positioning device of Patent Documents 1 and 2 carry out
the positioning of the position of a particular mobile station
antenna or the position of the mobile station using the position of
each mobile station antenna to the respective reference station
antennas. [Reference Documents of Conventional Art]
PATENT DOCUMENTS
[0005] Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 8,120,527B2 [0006] Patent
Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 9,035,826B2
DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
Problems to be Solved by the Disclosure
[0007] However, in the method of using the plurality of reference
station antennas and the plurality of mobile station antennas
disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the determination of an
initial integer value bias which is essential for the relative
positioning calculation by the carrier phase difference may take
time. If the determination of the initial integer value bias takes
time, the positioning also takes time.
[0008] Therefore, one purpose of the present disclosure is to
determine an integer value bias at high speed.
Summary of the Disclosure
[0009] A positioning device according to one aspect of the present
disclosure may include a FLOAT solution calculating part, a posture
information acquiring part, and an integer value bias determining
part. The FLOAT solution calculating part may use carrier phase
differences between carrier phases obtained by a plurality of
antennas of a first station and a carrier phase obtained by one or
more antennas of a second station provided separately from the
first station to calculate a FLOAT solution of a particular
position that is a relative position with respect to the second
station, without using posture information on the first station.
The posture information acquiring part may acquire the posture
information on the first station. The integer value bias
determining part may determine an integer value bias of the carrier
phase, using the FLOAT solution of the particular position and the
posture information on the first station.
[0010] Moreover, a positioning device according to another aspect
of the present disclosure may include a FLOAT solution calculating
part, a posture information acquiring part, and an integer value
bias determining part. The FLOAT solution calculating part may
calculate a FLOAT solution of a particular position that is an
absolute position of a first station, using carrier phases obtained
by a plurality of antennas of the first station, without using
posture information on the first station. The posture information
acquiring part may acquire the posture information on the first
station. The integer value bias determining part may determine an
integer value bias of the carrier phase, using the FLOAT solution
of the particular position and the posture information on the first
station.
[0011] According to these configurations, even if the relative
spatial relationship between the plurality of antennas of the first
station (i.e., the attitude angle of the first station) is not
known, the FLOAT solution may be calculated. Here, the
characteristic of the carrier phase differences being an integer is
not required. Therefore, the FLOAT solution converged more securely
can be obtained even if the relative spatial relationship is not
known.
Effect of the Disclosure
[0012] According to the present disclosure, the initial integer
value bias can be determined at high speed, and the relative
positioning using the carrier phase difference can be
accelerated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1(A) is a functional block diagram of a relative
positioning device according to a first embodiment of the present
disclosure, and FIG. 1(B) is a functional block diagram of a
calculating part illustrated in FIG. 1(A).
[0014] FIG. 2(A) is a view illustrating one example of a spatial
relationship between a plurality of antennas in a relative
positioning system including the relative positioning device
according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, and a
plurality of positioning satellites, and FIG. 2(B) is a view
illustrating base-line vectors in the relative positioning system
including the relative positioning device according to the first
embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing of relative
positioning according to the first embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating determination of an
integer value bias in the relative positioning according to the
first embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating calculation processing of
a FLOAT solution in the relative positioning according to the first
embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating determination of the
integer value bias in the relative positioning according to the
first embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating more concrete processing
of the determination of the integer value bias according to the
first embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a relative
positioning according to a second embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 9(A) is a functional block diagram of a first aspect of
a relative positioning device according to a third embodiment of
the present disclosure, and FIG. 9(B) is a functional block diagram
of a second aspect of the relative positioning device according to
the third embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 10 is a view illustrating one example of another aspect
for the layout of the antennas in the relative positioning system
according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0023] FIG. 11(A) is a functional block diagram of the relative
positioning device according to the third embodiment of the present
disclosure, and FIG. 11(B) is a functional block diagram of a
calculating part illustrated in FIG. 11(A).
MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE DISCLOSURE
[0024] A relative positioning device, a relative positioning
system, a relative positioning method, and a relative positioning
program according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure
are described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1(A) is a
functional block diagram of the relative positioning device
according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.
1(B) is a functional block diagram of a calculating part
illustrated in FIG. 1(A). FIG. 2(A) is a view illustrating one
example of a spatial relationship between a plurality of antennas
in the relative positioning system including the relative
positioning device according to the first embodiment of the present
disclosure, and a plurality of positioning satellites. Note that,
in FIG. 2(A), illustration of broken lines indicative of carrier
phases to a positioning satellite SV2 is omitted. FIG. 2(B) is a
view illustrating base-line vectors in the relative positioning
system including the relative positioning device according to the
first embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 1(A), a positioning device 10 may
include positioning antennas 21 and 22, receivers 31 and 32, a
wireless communication antenna 40, a communication unit 41, an
observed value generator 50, and a calculating part 60. As
illustrated in FIG. 1(B), the calculating part 60 may include a
FLOAT solution calculating part 61, an integer value bias
determining part 62, and a relative positioning calculating part
63. The receivers 31 and 32, the communication unit 41, the
observed value generator 50, and the calculating part 60 may be
respectively implemented by discrete hardware and a processing
program for each part executed by the hardware.
[0026] The positioning device 10 may be used as a mobile station of
the relative positioning system. The relative positioning system
may be provided with a base station apart from the mobile station.
The mobile station is a "first station" of the present disclosure,
and the base station is a "second station" of the present
disclosure. For example, a RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) system may be
adopted as the relative positioning system, and the positioning
device 10 may use this RTK system to perform the relative
positioning.
[0027] As illustrated in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), the positioning
antennas 21 and 22 may be disposed in a given spatial relationship.
The positioning antenna 21 may receive positioning signals from the
positioning satellites SV1 and SV2, and output them to the receiver
31. The positioning antenna 22 may receive positioning signals from
the positioning satellites SV1 and SV2, and output them to the
receiver 32. The positioning antennas 21 and 22 may receive the
positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites
including the positioning satellites SV1 and SV2. Here, the
positioning antennas 21 and 22 may receive the positioning signals
from at least four common positioning satellites. Note that the
base station may be provided with a positioning antenna 90. The
positioning antenna 90 of the base station may also receive the
positioning signals from at least four common positioning
satellites with the positioning antennas 21 and 22.
[0028] The receiver 31 may detect a carrier phase of each of a
plurality of positioning signals received by the antenna 21, and
output it to the observed value generator 50. Here, the receiver 31
may detect a code pseudo range of each of the plurality of
positioning signals received by the antenna 21, and output it
together with the carrier phase. Further, the receiver 31 may
output an independent positioning result (position coordinate)
calculated using the code pseudo ranges together with the carrier
phases. Note that the receiver 31 may output the detection of the
code pseudo range, or the calculation of the independent
positioning result.
[0029] The receiver 32 may detect to the carrier phase of each of
the plurality of positioning signals received by the antenna 22,
and output it to the observed value generator 50. Here, the
receiver 32 may detect the code pseudo range of each of the
plurality of positioning signals received by the antenna 22, and
output it together with the carrier phase. Further, the receiver 32
may output an independent positioning result (position coordinate)
calculated using the code pseudo ranges together with the carrier
phases. Note that the receiver 32 may output the detection of the
code pseudo range, or the calculation of the independent
positioning result.
[0030] The wireless communication antenna 40 may receive a
positioning data signal from the base station. The positioning data
signal may include the carrier phase and the position coordinate at
the antenna 90 of the base station. Note that, if the base station
is a movable station, the independent positioning result at the
base station may be used as the position coordinate.
[0031] The communication unit 41 may demodulate to the positioning
data signal received by the wireless communication antenna 40, and
output the carrier phase and the position coordinate at the antenna
90 of the base station to the observed value generator 50.
[0032] The observed value generator 50 may include a positioning
information calculating part 51 and a posture (attitude)
information acquiring part 52.
[0033] The positioning information calculating part 51 may
calculate a double phase difference corresponding to a pair of the
antenna 21 and the antenna 30 for every group of positioning
satellites using the carrier phase of the antenna 21 and the
carrier phase of the antenna 90. That is, the positioning
information calculating part 51 may calculate the double phase
difference corresponding to a base-line vector bb01 which starts
from a center point 900 of the antenna 90 and ends at the antenna
21, as illustrated in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B). Moreover, the
positioning information calculating part 51 may calculate a double
phase difference corresponding to a pair of the antenna 22 and the
antenna 30 for every group of positioning satellites using the
carrier phase of the antenna 22 and the carrier phase of the
antenna 90. That is, the positioning information calculating part
51 may calculate the double phase difference corresponding to a
base-line vector bb02 which starts from the center point 900 of the
antenna 90 and ends at the antenna 22, as illustrated in FIGS. 2(A)
and 2(B). The positioning information calculating part 51 may
output the double phase differences to the calculating part 60.
[0034] Moreover, the posture information acquiring part 52 may
calculate a relative spatial relationship between the antenna 21
and the antenna 22 (i.e., an attitude angle) based on the carrier
phase difference between the antennas 21 and 22 by using a known
method. The posture information acquiring part 52 may output the
attitude angle to the calculating part 60.
[0035] Here, the calculation of the attitude angle may be more
complicated than the calculation of the double phase difference,
and therefore it may require more time than the calculation of the
double phase difference. Therefore, a timing at which the attitude
angle is outputted after it is calculated from the carrier phases
at a certain timing may be later than a timing at which the double
phase difference is outputted after it is calculated from the
carrier phase at the same timing.
[0036] The observed value generator 50 may associate each of the
double phase difference and the attitude angle with information
from which a received timing of the original carrier phase is
known, and output them to the calculating part 60. Moreover, the
observed value generator 50 may associate the independent
positioning result of the antenna 21 described above and the
independent positioning result of the antenna 22 described above
with the information from which the received timing of the original
carrier phase is known, and output them to the calculating part
60.
[0037] The calculating part 60 may execute a relative positioning
calculation for a particular position 200 of an antenna device 20
by using the double phase difference of the antenna 21 and the
antenna 90, the double phase difference of the antenna 22 and the
antenna 90, the independent positioning results of the antennas 21
and 22, and the attitude angle of the antenna 21 and the antenna
22. The particular position 200 may be a midpoint position between
the position of the antenna 21 and the position of the antenna 22
when the antenna device 20 is seen in a plan view. Note that the
particular position 200 is not limited to this configuration, and
it may be a position calculable based on a weighted average of the
position of the antenna 22 and the position of the antenna 21 in
the antenna device 20.
[0038] In more detail, as illustrated in FIG. 1(B), the FLOAT
solution calculating part 61 of the calculating part 60 may
calculate the position coordinate of the particular position 200
and a FLOAT solution of an integer value bias by using the double
phase difference between the antenna 21 and the antenna 90, the
double phase difference of the carrier phases between the antenna
22 and the antenna 90, and the independent positioning results of
the antennas 21 and 22.
[0039] Here, the double phase difference of the antenna 90 and the
antenna 21 may be .gradient..DELTA..PHI.91, and the double phase
difference of the antenna 90 and the antenna 22 may be
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.92. Moreover, the position of the antenna 21
by the independent positioning may be b1, and the position of the
antenna 22 by the independent positioning may be b2. Note that the
positions b1 and b2 may be relative positions when the center point
900 of the antenna 90 is used as a reference point. Moreover, a
direction cosine difference matrix may be .DELTA.H. The direction
cosine difference matrix .DELTA.H may be calculated by a known
method based on the positions of the antennas 21 and 22 by the
independent positioning, the position of the antenna 90, and the
position of the positioning satellites SV1 and SV2. Note that since
the distances between the antenna 90 and the antennas 21 and 22 are
short enough as compared with the distance between the antenna 90
and the antennas 21 and 22, and the positioning satellites SV1 and
SV2, the direction cosine difference matrix for the antenna 21 and
the direction cosine difference matrix for the antenna 22 may be
the same matrix.
[0040] In this case, the following expression can be established
for the base-line vector bb01 connecting the antenna 90 and the
antenna 21.
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.91=.DELTA.Hb1+.lamda..gradient..DELTA.N1
(Formula 1)
In Formula 1, .lamda. may be a wavelength of the carrier wave, and
.PI..DELTA.N1 may be an integer value bias for the base-line vector
bb01, i.e., an integer value bias for the pair of the antenna 90
and the antenna 21.
[0041] Similarly, the following expression can be established for
the base-line vector bb02 connecting the antenna 90 and the antenna
22.
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.92=.DELTA.Hb2+.lamda..gradient..DELTA.N2
(Formula 2)
In Formula 2, .lamda. may be a wavelength of the carrier wave, and
.gradient..DELTA.N2 may be an integer value bias for the base-line
vector bb02, i.e., an integer value bias for the pair of the
antenna 90 and the antenna 22.
[0042] Here, as described above, the particular position 200 of the
antenna device 20 may be the midpoint of the position of the
antenna 21 and the position of the antenna 22. Therefore, a
position b0 of the particular position 200 on the basis of the
center point 900 of the antenna 90 may be defined by the following
formula.
b0.ident.(b1+b2)/2 (Formula 3)
Moreover, an integer value bias a0 for a base-line vector bb0
connecting the center point 900 of the antenna 90 and the
particular position 200 of the antenna device 20 may be defined by
the following formula.
a0.ident.(.gradient..DELTA.N1+.gradient..DELTA.N2)/2 (Formula
4)
Therefore, the following formula can be established from Formula 1,
Formula 2, Formula 3, and Formula 4.
(.gradient..DELTA..PHI.91+.gradient..PHI.92)/2=.DELTA.Hb0+a0
(Formula 5)
By applying a Kalman filter to this formula, a FLOAT solution of
the position b0 of the particular position 200 and a FLOAT solution
of the integer value bias a0 may be estimated. Note that the
estimation technique may not be limited to the Kalman filter, but
other estimation techniques may also be used.
[0043] Here, the FLOAT solution of the integer value bias a0 is not
limited to be an integer. Therefore, even if the relative spatial
relationship between the antenna 21 and the antenna 22 (i.e., the
attitude angle) is not known, each FLOAT solution (the FLOAT
solution of the position b0 of the particular position 200 and the
FLOAT solution of the integer value bias a0) can be converged more
securely to a more accurate value. In addition, since the attitude
angle is not needed, the estimation of the FLOAT solution may
become high-speed.
[0044] The integer value bias determining part 62 of the
calculating part 60 may determine integer value biases
.gradient..DELTA.N1 and .gradient..DELTA.N2 using the attitude
angle from the posture information acquiring part 52, the FLOAT
solution b0 described above, and the respective double phase
differences .gradient..DELTA..PHI.91 and
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.92.
[0045] Here, the relative position of the antenna 22 on the basis
of the antenna 21 in a body coordinate system may be .DELTA.Lb, and
the relative position of the antenna 22 on the basis of the antenna
21 in a navigation coordinate system may be .DELTA.Ln. Moreover, a
coordinate conversion matrix from the body coordinate system to the
navigation coordinate system may be Cnb.
[0046] In this case, the following formula can be established.
.DELTA.Ln=Cnb.DELTA.Lb (Formula 6)
The following formula can be established from Formulas 1 and 6.
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.91=.DELTA.H(b0-.DELTA.Ln/2)+.lamda..gradient..DELT-
A.N1 (Formula 7)
.gradient..DELTA.N1 may be an integer bias for the pair of the
antenna 90 and the antenna 21.
[0047] When converting Formula 7, it becomes Formula 8.
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.91+.DELTA.H.DELTA.Ln/2=.DELTA.Hb0.lamda..gradient.-
.DELTA.N1 (Formula 8)
Moreover, the following formula can be established from Formulas 2
and 6.
.gradient..DELTA..PHI.92=.DELTA.H(b0+.DELTA.Ln/2)+.lamda..gradient..DELT-
A.N2 (Formula 9)
.gradient..DELTA.N2 may be an integer bias for the pair of the
antenna 90 and the antenna 22.
[0048] When converting Formula 9, it becomes Formula 10.
.gradient..DELTA..chi.92-.DELTA.H.DELTA.Ln/2=.DELTA.Hb0+.lamda..gradient-
..DELTA.N2 (Formula 10)
The integer value bias determining part 62 of the calculating part
60 may determine the integer value biases .gradient..DELTA.N1 and
.gradient..DELTA.N2 by a known method using the LAMBDA method to
Formulas 8 and 10. That is, the integer value bias determining part
62 of the calculating part 60 may calculate FIX solutions of the
integer value biases .gradient..DELTA.N1 and .gradient..DELTA.N2.
Note that, although the integer value bias determining part 62 of
the calculating part 60 may calculate the relative position
.DELTA.Ln of the navigation coordinate system from the relative
position .DELTA.Lb of the body coordinate system by acquiring the
attitude angle in Formula 6 described above, the relative position
.DELTA.Ln of the navigation coordinate system obtained from the
carrier phase difference may be used, without using the attitude
angle.
[0049] Then, the relative positioning calculating part 63 of the
calculating part 60 may calculate the FIX solutions of the
particular position 200 using the integer value biases
.gradient..DELTA.N1, .gradient..DELTA.N2, and the relative spatial
relationship between the antennas 21 and 22 and the particular
position 200 based on the attitude angle.
[0050] Thus, by using the configuration and the processing of this
embodiment, the determination of the integer value biases can be
accelerated, and the integer value biases can be determined
securely and accurately. Particularly, in the configuration of this
embodiment, even if the positioning location which needs the
determination of the integer value biases differs from the position
of the antenna, the determination of the integer value biases can
be accelerated, and the integer value biases can be determined
securely and accurately. That is, in the conventional case, the
limitation of the integer value bias being an integer is required
also for the calculation of the FLOAT solution. In this case, the
attitude angle has to be calculated before the calculation of the
FLOAT solution, and the calculation time of the FLOAT solution is
delayed while waiting for the calculation of the attitude angle
which takes time for the calculation, and, as a result, the
determination time of the integer value biases becomes late.
However, in the configuration and the processing of this
embodiment, even if the attitude angle is not known when
calculating the FLOAT solution, the FLOAT solution can still be
calculated, thereby accelerating the calculation of the FLOAT
solution and the determination of the integer value biases.
[0051] Note that in the above description processings of the
determination of the integer value bias and the relative
positioning calculation are executed by respective individual
functional parts. However, each processing of the determination of
the integer value biases and the relative positioning calculation
may be programmed and stored, and the program may be read and
executed by a processor. In this case, the processor may execute
processing illustrated in each of the following flows each time the
double phase difference is inputted.
[0052] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the
relative positioning according to the first embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the processor may first acquire an
observed value, such as the double phase difference (S101). If the
integer value biases have already been determined (S102: YES), the
processor may calculate the relative positioning of the particular
position 200 of the antenna device 20 (i.e., the FIX solution of
the particular position 200) using the integer value biases
(S104).
[0054] On the other hand, if the integer value biases have not
determined (S102: NO) like the determination of the initial integer
value biases, the processor may execute the determination of the
integer value biases (S103). Then, the processor may calculate the
FIX solution of the particular position 200 using the determined
integer value biases (S104).
[0055] Next, the determination of the integer value biases of FIG.
3 is described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the
determination of the integer value biases in the relative
positioning according to the first embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0056] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the processor may calculate the
FLOAT solution, without using the attitude angle, as described
above (S201). The processor may calculate the attitude angle
(S202). The processor may determine the integer value bias using
the attitude angle, as described above (S203). Note that, the
processor may determine whether the attitude angle is valid, and if
the attitude angle is valid, the processor may determine the
integer value biases. The determination of whether the attitude
angle is valid can be achieved by various kinds of known
statistical verifications for the calculated attitude angle. If the
attitude angle is not valid, the processor may not perform the
determination of the integer value biases.
[0057] Next, the calculation processing of the FLOAT solution of
FIG. 4 is described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the
calculation processing of the FLOAT solution in the relative
positioning according to the first embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0058] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the processor may calculate the
double phase difference for the plurality of antennas 21 and 22 of
the positioning device 10 (mobile station) (S301). Here, the double
phase difference may mean the double phase difference between the
antenna 90 of the reference station, and the antenna 21, and the
double phase difference between the antenna 90 of the reference
station, and the antenna 22.
[0059] The processor may calculate the double phase difference
between the antenna 90 of the reference station, and the particular
position 200 of the antenna device 20 of the mobile station by
using the double phase differences (S302). Moreover, the processor
may calculate the direction cosine difference matrix from the
independent positioning results of the antennas 21 and 22, the
position of the antenna 90, and the positions of the positioning
satellites SV1 and SV2 (S303).
[0060] The processor may apply the Kalman filter to the equation
which uses the double phase difference and the direction cosine
difference matrix, as described above, and estimate the FLOAT
solution for the particular position (S304).
[0061] Next, more concrete processing of the determination of the
integer value biases of FIG. 4 is described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart
illustrating the determination of the integer value biases in the
relative positioning according to the first embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0062] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the processor may calculate the
double phase difference between the plurality of antennas 21 and 22
of the positioning device 10 (mobile station) (S401). Here, the
double phase difference may mean the double phase difference
between the antennas 21 and 22 on the basis of one of the antennas
21 and 22 of the mobile station, independent from the antenna 90 of
the reference station.
[0063] The processor may calculate the attitude angle of the
antennas 21 and 22 using the method described above (S402). The
processor may calculate the relative position of the particular
position 200 with respect to antennas 21 and 22 using the attitude
angle (S403).
[0064] The processor may determine the integer value biases by
applying the LAMBDA method to the above equation set using this
relative position, the double phase difference between the antenna
90 of the reference station and the antenna 21 of the mobile
station described above, the double phase difference between the
antenna 90 of the reference station and the antenna 22 of the
mobile station, and the FLOAT solution (S404).
[0065] This determination of the integer value biases may be
performed by the following processing. FIG. 7 is a flowchart
illustrating more concrete processing of the determination of the
integer value biases according to the first embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0066] The processor may calculate the FLOAT solution and a
covariance matrix of the integer value bias corresponding to the
double phase difference of the particular position 200 (S441). The
processor may create candidate points of the integer value bias by
the LAMBDA method using the FLOAT solution and the covariance
matrix of the integer value bias (S442).
[0067] The processor may calculate the relative position of the
particular position 200 with respect to the antenna 90 based on
each of the candidate points of integer value bias (S443). For
example, the processor may calculate the relative position of the
particular position 200 using the candidate point of the integer
value bias which becomes the minimum norm.
[0068] The processor may perform a verification to each of the
relative positions of the particular position 200 obtained from the
respective candidate points (S444). As the verification,
verification by the residual sum of squares or verification based
on a ratio of the norm may be used, for example. The verification
by the residual sum of squares may be to determine success or pass
of the verification when the residual sum of squares is below a
threshold value. The verification based on the norm ratio may be to
determine success or pass of the verification when a ratio obtained
by dividing the second smallest norm by the minimum norm is above a
threshold value. Moreover, when performed a plurality of
verifications and passed all the verifications, the processor may
use the relative position of the particular position 200
corresponding to this candidate point.
[0069] Next, a relative positioning device, a relative positioning
system, a relative positioning method, and a relative positioning
program according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure
are described with reference to the drawings.
[0070] In the relative positioning device, the relative positioning
system, the relative positioning method, and the relative
positioning program according to the second embodiment, the
calculation result of the relative positioning is not outputted, if
the FIX solution is not valid (i.e., not passed the verification).
However, by using the method according to the second embodiment, it
may become possible to output the FLOAT solution instead even if
the FIX solution is not valid.
[0071] The configurations of the relative positioning device and
the relative positioning system according to the second embodiment
are similar to the configurations of the relative positioning
device and the relative positioning system according to the first
embodiment, and only differs in processing. Therefore, below, only
the different processing from the first embodiment is described
concretely.
[0072] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing of relative
positioning according to the second embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0073] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the processor may first acquire
the observed value, such as the double phase difference (S501). If
the integer value biases have already been determined (S502: YES),
the processor may calculate the relative positioning of the
particular position 200 of the antenna device 20 (i.e., the FIX
solution of the particular position 200) using the integer value
biases (S506).
[0074] If the integer value biases have not been determined like
the determination of the initial integer value biases (S502: NO),
the processor may calculate the FLOAT solution (S503).
[0075] The processor may acquire the attitude angle, and if the
attitude angle is valid (S504: YES), it may then determine the
integer value biases (S505). Then, the processor may calculate the
FIX solution of the particular position 200 using the integer value
biases (S506).
[0076] The processor may determine whether the FIX solution is
valid using the verification described above (S507). If the FIX
solution is valid (S507: YES), the processor may output the FIX
solution (S508).
[0077] If the FIX solution is not valid (S507: NO), or if the
attitude angle is not valid (S504: NO), the processor may determine
the validity of the FLOAT solution (S509). If the FIX solution is
not valid and the FLOAT solution is valid (S509: YES), the
processor may output the FLOAT solution (S510). If the FLOAT
solution is not valid (S509: NO), the processor may output an
invalid flag which notifies the invalidity of the relative
positioning result (S511).
[0078] By performing such processing, even when the FIX solution
cannot be outputted, the FLOAT solution can be outputted according
to the arrangement of the positioning satellites, the reception
state of the positioning signals, etc., as long as the FLOAT
solution is valid.
[0079] Next, a relative positioning device, a relative positioning
system, a relative positioning method, and a relative positioning
program according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure
are described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9(A) is a
functional block diagram of a first aspect of the relative
positioning device according to the third embodiment of the present
disclosure. FIG. 9(B) is a functional block diagram of a second
aspect of the relative positioning device according to the third
embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0080] As illustrated in FIG. 9(A), positioning devices 10A and 10B
according to the third embodiment differ in that an inertia sensor
70 is added to the positioning device 10 according to the first
embodiment, and in that processing is changed accordingly. Other
configurations of the positioning devices 10A and 10B are similar
to those of the positioning device 10, and therefore, description
of the same parts are omitted.
[0081] The inertia sensor 70 in FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B) may be provided
with an angular velocity sensor, for example.
[0082] In the positioning device 10A of FIG. 9(A), the inertia
sensor 70 may output an angular velocity to the observed value
generator 50. The observed value generator 50 may calculate an
integrated attitude angle using the angular velocity and the
carrier phases of the positioning signals. The integrated attitude
angle may be an attitude angle which is calculated by correcting
the angular velocity of the inertia sensor 70 by the carrier phases
or the angular velocity using the carrier phases, for example. The
observed value generator 50 may output the attitude angle to the
calculating part 60, and the calculating part 60 may perform the
determination and the relative positioning of integer value biases
using the attitude angle.
[0083] In the positioning device 10B of FIG. 9(B), the inertia
sensor 70 may output the angular velocity to the calculating part
60. The calculating part 60 may calculate the attitude angle based
on the angular velocity, and perform the determination and the
relative positioning of the integer value biases using the attitude
angle.
[0084] Thus, the attitude angle may be calculated using the output
from the inertia sensor 70. In the positioning device 10A of FIG.
9(A), since a highly-precise attitude angle can be acquired, the
accuracy of the determination of the integer value biases and the
accuracy of the relative positioning can be further improved.
Moreover, in the positioning device 10B of FIG. 9(B), since the
attitude angle can be acquired at high speed, the transition to the
integer value bias determination can be certainly made quicker.
[0085] Note that although the inertia sensor 70 is used, a
geomagnetic sensor may be used instead of the inertia sensor
70.
[0086] Note that although the number of antennas of the base
station is one, and the number of antennas of the mobile station is
two, the number of antennas of each station is not limited to these
numbers. FIG. 10 is a view illustrating one example of another
aspect for the layout of the antennas in the relative positioning
system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0087] In FIG. 10, an antenna device 90C of the base station may be
provided with four antennas 91, 92, 93, and 94. The antennas 91,
92, 93, and 94 may be disposed at four corners of a square when
seen in a plan view of the antenna device 90C. An antenna device
20C of the mobile station may be provided with four antennas 21,
22, 23, and 24. The antennas 21, 22, 23, and 24 may be disposed at
four corners of a square when seen in a plan view of the antenna
device 20C.
[0088] In such a configuration, the relative positioning of a
center point 200C of the antenna device 20C of the mobile station
may be performed with respect to a center point 900C of the antenna
device 90C of the base station. The center point 900C may be
located at an equal distance from the antennas 91, 92, 93, and 94,
and the position of the center point 900C can be defined by an
average value of the position of antennas 91, 92, 93, and 94.
Similarly, the center point 200C may be located at an equal
distance from the antennas 21, 22, 23, and 24, and the position of
the center point 200C can be defined by an average value of the
position of antennas 21, 22, 23, and 24. Therefore, it is possible
to apply the processing described above, and therefore, the FLOAT
solution can be calculated without using the attitude angle, and
the integer value biases can be determined using the FLOAT solution
and the attitude angle. Thus, by increasing the number of antennas
which receives the positioning signals, the number of observed
values can be increased, thereby improving the determination
accuracy of the integer value biases. Note that the number of
antennas of the mobile station may not be the same as the number of
antennas of the base station. Moreover, the point (reference point)
used as the starting point and the terminal point of the base-line
vector which determines the integer value bias may not be the
center point of the layout of the plurality of antennas. In this
case, the reference point may be defined by a weighted average of
the positions of the plurality of antennas.
[0089] Next, the positioning device, the positioning method, and
the positioning program according to the third embodiment of the
present disclosure are described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 11(A) is a functional block diagram of the relative
positioning device according to the third embodiment of the present
disclosure, and FIG. 11(B) is a functional block diagram of a
calculating part illustrated in FIG. 11(A).
[0090] In the first and second embodiments described above, RTK
which uses the difference of the carrier phase of the base station
and the carrier phase of the mobile station (carrier phase
difference) is described. However, the above processing may also be
applicable to PPP (Precision Point Positioning) only using the
carrier phase of the mobile station. When PPP is used, the
configuration illustrated in FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B) may be
applicable. Note that, in the configuration illustrated in FIGS.
11(A) and 11(B), the same reference characters as those in FIGS.
1(A) and 1(B) are given to the same parts as FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B),
and therefore, description of the parts is omitted.
[0091] As illustrated in FIG. 11(A), a positioning device 10C may
include the positioning antennas 21 and 22, the receivers 31 and
32, an observed value generator 50C, and a calculating part 60C.
The observed value generator 50C may include a positioning
information calculating part 51C and the posture information
acquiring part 52. As illustrated in FIG. 11(B), the calculating
part 60C may include a FLOAT solution calculating part 61C, the
integer value bias determining part 62, and an independent
positioning calculating part 64. The receivers 31 and 32, the
communication unit 41, the observed value generator 50C, and the
calculating part 60C may be respectively implemented by individual
hardware or sole hardware, and a processing program for each part
executed by the hardware.
[0092] The positioning information calculating part 51C may
calculate carrier phases and direction cosines of the antennas 21
and 22. The positioning information calculating part 51C may output
the carrier phases and direction cosines to the calculating part
60C.
[0093] The FLOAT solution calculating part 61C may calculate a
FLOAT solution of independent positioning at a particular position
200 (see the mobile station in FIG. 2) different from the antennas
21 and 22, by using the carrier phases and the direction cosines.
Here, the FLOAT solution calculating part 61C may calculate the
FLOAT solution of the independent positioning by processing in
which the carrier phase difference and the direction cosine
difference in the first embodiment are replaced by the carrier
phases and the direction cosines.
[0094] The integer value bias determining part 62 may determine an
integer value bias using the FLOAT solution and the attitude angle.
The independent positioning calculating part 64 may calculate a FIX
solution of the particular position 200 using the integer value
bias, and a relative spatial relationship between the antennas 21
and 22, and the particular position 200 based on the attitude
angle.
[0095] By such a configuration, the estimation of the FLOAT
solution of the integer value bias may become high speed in the
independent positioning using the carrier phases.
[0096] Note that the processing used for the independent
positioning of this embodiment can be achieved by replacing the
carrier phase difference in the processing illustrated in the first
embodiment by the carrier phase, and replacing the direction cosine
difference by the direction cosine.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0097] 10, 10A, 10B, 10C: Positioning Device [0098] 20, 20C:
Antenna Device [0099] 21, 22: Antenna [0100] 30: Antenna [0101] 31,
32: Receiver [0102] 40: Antenna [0103] 41: Communication Unit
[0104] 50, 50C: Observed Value Generator [0105] 60, 60C:
Calculating Part [0106] 61, 61C: FLOAT Solution Calculating Part
[0107] 62: Integer Value Bias Determining Part [0108] 63: Relative
Positioning Calculating Part [0109] 64: Independent Positioning
Calculating Part [0110] 70: Inertia Sensor [0111] 90: Antenna
[0112] 90C: Antenna Device [0113] 91: Antenna [0114] 200:
Particular Position [0115] 200C: Center Point [0116] 900, 900C:
Center Point [0117] bb0: Base-line Vector [0118] bb01: Base-line
Vector [0119] bb02: Base-line Vector [0120] SV1: Positioning
Satellite [0121] SV2: Positioning Satellite
* * * * *